World

Beijing; Dec.18: Beijing has issued its second red alert for air pollution this month as a new bout of smog is forecast to hit the capital from Saturday to Tuesday.

The red alert, the most serious level, will last from 7 a.m. Saturday to 12 p.m. Tuesday, limiting vehicles on roads according to odd-even license plate numbers and banning fireworks and outdoor barbecue, the Beijing municipal heavy pollution emergency response headquarters said on Friday.

China's National Meteorological Centre said, the air pollution will last through the following Tuesday and be worse than the spell between December 6 and 9, which forced Beijing to issue its highest first-ever smog alert since the emergency response system was created in October 2013.

Visibility in Beijing and some neighbouring regions will be reduced to less than one km during the new bout of smog, and the density of PM 2.5 pollution in some of the regions will exceed 500 micrograms per cubic meter.

The December 6 smog recorded PM 2.5 around 400 micrograms per cubic meters. Beijingers expects a second record as the weekend smog expected to cross that.

On December 7, Beijing issued the first-ever red alert as the city of over 22 million people faced the worst ever smog, forcing authorities to shut down schools and putting restrictions on factories and traffic.